JASPER - The Jasper Lady Bulldogs rallied for a thrilling 37-35 victory over Carthage Tuesday, Dec. 18 to move to 2-0 in District 20-3A play.

Jasper trailed Carthage 21-16 at the half and had to muster up a strong comeback in the second half to stay unbeaten in district play.

Early in the second half, every time Jasper would pull close to Carthage, the visiting Lady Bulldogs would pull back out to a comfortable lead.

After three quarters of play, Jasper held a slim 26-25 lead and Jasper continued to pad its lead in the final quarter of the game.

A bucket by Shemiqua Spikes gave Jasper a 31-27 lead with 5:14 left in the third quarter but Carthage came right back and knotted the contest up a short time later on a breakaway lay-up with 4:17 left in the final quarter.

A breakaway lay-up by Brittany Harper gave Jasper a 33-31 lead with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter but two Carthage free throws tied the game right back up a short time later.

An inside power bucket by sophomore Delicia Rushing gave Jasper a 35-33 lead with 1:58 showing in the game. But Carthage came right back to tie the game at 35-all with 41 seconds left in the game.

The contest appeared to be heading for overtime before senior Julia Land was fouled while shooting. Land converted one of two free throws to give Jasper a 36-35 lead with 18 seconds left in the game.

Carthage drove the ball down the court but dribbled the ball out of bounds to give the ball back to Jasper with 8.49 seconds left in the game.

Land was again fouled and hit one of two free throws to push Jasper's lead out to 37-35 with 4.41 seconds left in the game. Carthage had one last chance to either tie the game and send it to an overtimeSee Jasper, Page 3B

period or possibly win it on a three-point shot.

Carthage dribbled the ball freely up the court and got off a good look at a three to win the contest but the shot fell wide of the bucket and Jasper held on for the victory.

In the early going of the contest, Carthage led for almost the entire first half as Jasper struggled to gets its offense going. At the end of the first quarter, Jasper trailed Carthage by a score of 7-4.

Carthage pushed their lead out to 15-10 with 4:03 left in the second quarter before Jasper came storming back to pull to within a point of the lead on a Rushing bucket with 2:33 left in the second quarter.

Jasper assumed its only lead of the night when senior Tia Hunt, who had a strong game rebounding the ball for the Lady Bulldogs, scored inside to give Jasper a 16-15 lead with 1:41 left in the second quarter.

But Carthage came right back with four straight points to take a 19-16 lead with 25 seconds left in the first half. Carthage added another bucket late to give the Lady Bulldogs a 21-16 halftime advantage.

JASPER - The Jasper Lady Bulldogs rallied for a thrilling 37-35 victory over Carthage Tuesday, Dec. 18 to move to 2-0 in District 20-3A play.

Jasper trailed Carthage 21-16 at the half and had to muster up a strong comeback in the second half to stay unbeaten in district play.

Early in the second half, every time Jasper would pull close to Carthage, the visiting Lady Bulldogs would pull back out to a comfortable lead.

After three quarters of play, Jasper held a slim 26-25 lead and Jasper continued to pad its lead in the final quarter of the game.

A bucket by Shemiqua Spikes gave Jasper a 31-27 lead with 5:14 left in the third quarter but Carthage came right back and knotted the contest up a short time later on a breakaway lay-up with 4:17 left in the final quarter.

A breakaway lay-up by Brittany Harper gave Jasper a 33-31 lead with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter but two Carthage free throws tied the game right back up a short time later.

An inside power bucket by sophomore Delicia Rushing gave Jasper a 35-33 lead with 1:58 showing in the game. But Carthage came right back to tie the game at 35-all with 41 seconds left in the game.

The contest appeared to be heading for overtime before senior Julia Land was fouled while shooting. Land converted one of two free throws to give Jasper a 36-35 lead with 18 seconds left in the game.

Carthage drove the ball down the court but dribbled the ball out of bounds to give the ball back to Jasper with 8.49 seconds left in the game.

Land was again fouled and hit one of two free throws to push Jasper's lead out to 37-35 with 4.41 seconds left in the game. Carthage had one last chance to either tie the game and send it to an overtime period or possibly win it on a three-point shot.

Carthage dribbled the ball freely up the court and got off a good look at a three to win the contest but the shot fell wide of the bucket and Jasper held on for the victory.

In the early going of the contest, Carthage led for almost the entire first half as Jasper struggled to gets its offense going. At the end of the first quarter, Jasper trailed Carthage by a score of 7-4.

Carthage pushed their lead out to 15-10 with 4:03 left in the second quarter before Jasper came storming back to pull to within a point of the lead on a Rushing bucket with 2:33 left in the second quarter.

Jasper assumed its only lead of the night when senior Tia Hunt, who had a strong game rebounding the ball for the Lady Bulldogs, scored inside to give Jasper a 16-15 lead with 1:41 left in the second quarter.

But Carthage came right back with four straight points to take a 19-16 lead with 25 seconds left in the first half. Carthage added another bucket late to give the Lady Bulldogs a 21-16 halftime advantage.